Dec 10, 2011

My fairy tale moment for the day: In the middle of making this I decided that since I was using natural elements to make this Christmas wreath, that real holly berries would be perfect. I was trying to convince myself that while that would be nice, I should be satisfied with the fake berries I already purchased and that they would be fine. Just then I remembered admiring several houses on our street who had the holly berries growing in their yards, and decided to ask my husband if he would sneak out into the cold darkness and retrieve some from a vacant house near ours. Suddenly, the Faery Tale Theater "Rapunzel" movie came to my mind and I couldn't help but laugh. I used to watch that movie over and over when I was little. In the movie Rapunzel and her Mother are played by Shelly Duvall (below, with her radishes). The Prince and Rupunzel's dad where played by Jeff Bridges (below)! He was so funny in the movie and to get to the point, there is a part in the beginning where the mom gets a craving for radishes, the special kind that the neighbor (who turns out to be the witch) grows in her garden. She begged him to sneak next door and get her some radishes, and even though he is reluctant to do so, he ends up sneaking over to get some and ends up getting caught by the witch, ultimately resulting in her stealing their first born child (Rapunzel) for payment. Not exactly how Tangled goes but this was the tale I remember most! So my husband pulled a Jeff Bridges and snuck off in the night to get me my very special holly branches. Don't worry, he only got a few stems, after having been poked by the leaves of the bushes....I'm just glad that was the only trouble he ran into.

Hahahaha, anyways, this wreath only cost me $15.00. Here is what I used.

I weaved the branches into the vines in the same direction. Then added the berries and holly. I stuck in some trim from our tree in one corner along with the cotton blossoms. I tied my burlap ribbon into a bow and glued it in the same corner.

I put the real holly all around at first, but then moved it all around the bow, so that it would look simpler.

I just used some some simple jute to hang it to the hook. I love the natural idea of this wreath, and that the only hot glue used was to hold the bow in place. Weaving the branches and berries into the grapevine reminded me of how the primitive holiday wreaths were made, using simple seasonal elements gathered from nature, and weaving them together to make something beautiful for the home.